The End Of Railroading In Fountain Pens

[RudraDev]

Hi, so I was wondering how we can get rid of the problem of railroading.

As far as I've seen, railroading occurs when the capillary action of the ink breaks as a result of too much space between the tines when they are flexed.

 

So, to get rid of this, all we have to do is make an ink where the cohesive force between the molecules is greater(too much cohesive force may obstruct flow) to the point where it doesn't break the surface tension of the ink, much like a soap bubble stretches when you blow it.

 

Can't we make an ink keeping this in mind?

[hari317]

Then the ink will feather badly on paper. You have to strike a balance. A well adjusted pen plus a well behaved ink. One cannot compensate for the bad tune of another. .

[ParkerDuofold]

Then the ink will feather badly on paper. You have to strike a balance. A well adjusted pen plus a well behaved ink. One cannot compensate for the bad tune of another. .

Hi Rudra,

 

I think Hari hit it on the head. I was wondering why I couldn't take my fountain pen on the train anymore.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

[SoulSamurai]

I wonder if an overfeed can help prevent railroading? The feed itself needs to be wet enough with the ink in question of course.

[Carrau]

Hi Rudra,

 

I think Hari hit it on the head. I was wondering why I couldn't take my fountain pen on the train anymore.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

It wasn’t because of your fountainpen. It was because of your ostrich.

[RudraDev]

I wonder if an overfeed can help prevent railroading? The feed itself needs to be wet enough with the ink in question of course.

Yeah, it works. Look up the Mabie Todd Swan Over Feed Flex pen

[Tseg]

One way to stop railroading is to minimize tine-spreading from too much pressure.

Edited March 17, 2019 by Tseg

[SoulSamurai]

Yeah, it works. Look up the Mabie Todd Swan Over Feed Flex pen

 

 

I wonder why more pens don't use overfeeds - at least those that are intended to deliver flex? Probably isn't important enough to justify the extra cost of modifying a standard nib housing. Does the little bar that is meant to adjust the stiffness of the Pilot Justus nib function as an overfeed?

[ParkerDuofold]

It wasnt because of your fountainpen. It was because of your ostrich.

 

I'll have you to know it wasn't an ostrich... they're dead common... it was a camel...

 

https://youtu.be/7LtjzQaFZ3k

 

https://youtu.be/fwJazZIWNgg

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

Edited for content and to fit the time allotted.

Edited March 17, 2019 by ParkerDuofold

[RudraDev]

 

 

I wonder why more pens don't use overfeeds - at least those that are intended to deliver flex? Probably isn't important enough to justify the extra cost of modifying a standard nib housing. Does the little bar that is meant to adjust the stiffness of the Pilot Justus nib function as an overfeed?

No. The bar over the feed on the Justus doesn't carry ink. From what I've seen, the one in mabie todd supplies more ink to the nib, but I'm not sure. The Justus is a good pen, but it's neither a great everyday writer, nor a great flex pen. Edited March 17, 2019 by RudraDev

[bogiesan]

Railroad fan here. Thought you had a themed pen to show me. But no.

[Carrau]

 

I'll have you to know it wasn't an ostrich... they're dead common... it was a camel...

 

https://youtu.be/7LtjzQaFZ3k

 

https://youtu.be/fwJazZIWNgg

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

Edited for content and to fit the time allotted.

 

I could have sworn this was you.

[zaddick]

Railroad fan here. Thought you had a themed pen to show me. But no.

Google the ST Dupont Orient Express

[Bo Bo Olson]

What nib are you over-stressing to have RR problems?

 

In spite of what you see on Youtube.....how to spring your nib vids, or on Ebay, look at the nib I just sprung.....

.....superflex is sometimes only a 4x tine spread vs a light down stroke. 5X is more common than 6X..............................and 7 X is rare in non-sprung nibs.

Go to Richard Binder's site, read his article on metal fatigue.

 

I have a Pelikan 100n, in Easy Full Flex which will go 5X vs a light down stroke. After reading the article strive to keep that nib at 4 X..............as a max, and one don't need to max a nib all the time.

 

The more superflex pens one has the harder it is to assign them to flex rates.........Easy Full Flex, Wet Noodle or Weak Kneed Wet Noodle....the latter thankfully I don't have, and won't chase.....why I'd have to learn to write.

 

I do have 6X and even a couple 7X Wet Noodles....that I Do Not Max.....I don't want to spring a nib and for me....I have to sweat to write EEF, have to think to write EF, so mostly scribble at F.

If one has tested one's nib....and it does help to have worked one's way up the flex ladder, one knows where the max is on a superflex by feel.

 

.............I strive to stay one level below max. A pen that can go from EEF to BB is quite wide enough....with out worrying about the last step of BBB.

(If I 'need' to go super wide......I can get an easy to replace dip pen, like a Hunt 99-100-101. They do make a Wet Noodle look uncooked....go real, real, real wide.)

 

Those who can write (not me) care about a fast snapback to a thin line, than how fat they can make a letter.

You draw the letter....you should download or buy a calligraphy book to learn to draw the letter properly.

Some to many dip pens make a Wet Noodle look uncooked, but they use a thicker never use in a fountain pen ink. Higgans, Windsor&Newton.

 

Regular inks...........Oddly I don't have many inks in mind for my superflex pens, and I do have two out in the pen cup....R&K Salix or Scabiosa...both IG inks.

 

The second Waterman 52's index ink card just has a blue ink I didn't even mark in the what ink in the pan index card....could well be Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue...didn't even try a fancy stroke, just that pen is a tad smaller and thinner than other 52.

 

So I don't push my nibs to RR all the time, or I'd worry more about what ink to use........paper makes a difference...I'm sure.

 

ESSR.............is an iron gall ink.....will turn from blue to blue-black or black as you watch (Most others take up to 24 hours to fully change).....depending on the paper..........would be the first ink I'd reach for with Superflex......or the R&K inks toss up. ESSR hit us half a decade ago, and there is one thread with over was it a 100 posts or a hundred pages. I did a 47 paper test (17 pens) on that ink, but those were lost on Ransom-bucket.

I called it a Sneaky ink, Sandy1 called it Mischievous. It was rated higher than Diamine Register ink by those with both. 110ml bottle for an affordable price.

 

 

 

I do a fancy Capitol L as my check the nib and ink superflex letter...........if I have a good match, I have an English Handlebar mustache L........if my nib don't want to go real wide...a Snidely Whiplash handlebar mustache...L.

One of my 52's will do 7X, the other 'only' 6X....and I keep them one level under those maxes. Both of my 52's are wet noodles....but not all 52's are even superflex.

Edited March 17, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[Honeybadgers]

If you're doing some serious flexing -

 

1.) consider that you're overflexing. Are you writing HUGE script that needs a 2-3mm shade? then move onto 2. But if you're writing fairly normally or even up to 2x or 3x your normal letter height, you are almost certainly overflexing if you're asking more than 1mm flex out of a nib. The shades in writing are supposed to be subtle.

 

2.) a piece of scotch tape laid over the nib will act as a perfect overfeed.

[WLSpec]

I've noticed that railroading isn't much of a problem for me these days. Long ago nibs tended to have more flex, so vintage flexxies will railroad a lot. However, these days you have to buy flex nibs to really get much railroading. I agree with Honeybadgers. You might be overflexing the nib. I don't really get railroading out of my new pens. In saying that, my Sailor 21k nib seems to railroad a bit, so it might be a matter of brand...

 

I would just say you are probably overflexing the nib. Just try putting less pressure on it as you write.

 

Good luck.

[A Smug Dill]

When you flex a nib to cause the tines to spread apart from each other as well as lift away from the tip of the feed, at some point you will get ink starvation. Two separate lines being left by the tips of spread tines is a symptom of ink starvation, not just whether the ink available to the nib is capable of bridging the distances between the tines as the slit widens.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Do have to say what pen and nib you are using................most modern pens are nail and semi-nail so the company don't have to pay for nib repair.

Pelikan 200 is regular flex....the same as what the Japanese call 'soft'. Those pens are now rare....they use to be regular issue....so....regular flex.

 

Flex pen like an Ahab is a bit 'heavy' in spreading tines...........but do tell us what pen you are using.

[joly1]

I like to make my own inks, walnut ,sepia with soot,iron gall, textile dye and when I found them to be too "dry" ,I add a drop or two of dishwashing soap, the railroad may still occur but the flow is way better, the main drawback may be feathering on some papers.

[sirgilbert357]

most modern pens are nail and semi-nail so the company don't have to pay for nib repair.

I do wish you'd stop saying this over and over all over these forums. It is simply not true. Please show me where pen makers were repairing bent tines on nibs FOR FREE as if that were a warranty item?

Edited March 18, 2019 by sirgilbert357